 In 2016/17 violent crime rose by 26 per cent in Gloucestershire, while total recorded crime increased by 13 per cent  There are now 250 fewer police officers in Gloucestershire than 10 years ago, while the number of Police Community Support Officers has fallen by 16 per cent since 2013  Gloucestershire Constabulary's budget has been cut by £30 million since 2010
Gloucestershire Liberal Democrats are bringing forward a motion at the County Council meeting on 16 May, calling for a reversal in cuts to the county's already stretched police force. The motion, to be proposed by Cllr. David Brown, highlights the group's concern surrounding cuts of over £30 million to Gloucestershire Constabulary's budget, with the associated loss of 250 police officers and 16 per cent of the county's PCSOs.
The motion recognises the hard work of the county's police officers in challenging circumstances, while noting that cuts to the police budget have coincided with a rise in total recorded crime of 13 per cent in 2016/17, with instances of violent crime in Gloucestershire up 26 per cent.
Cllr. David Brown (Barnwood and Hucclecote) said: "Local communities across the county are seeing the impact of the Conservative cuts to police budgets, with the drop in police numbers and rising levels of violent crime and anti-social behaviour.
"These cuts to Gloucestershire's police force have gone too far, which is why we are asking the Conservative Council leader to write to the Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, the new Home Secretary, calling for him to properly fund the police force and provide it with the resources it needs to serve the communities in Gloucestershire."

There are calls for a new civil justice centre to be built in Gloucester city centre rather than in Quedgeley.

The Liberal Democrat group leader on the City council, Councillor Jeremy Hilton, said that if a new crown, county and magistrates court complex was to be built in the city then it should be in a central location, rather than at the Waterwells business park in Quedgely.

 Of £30 billion raised in vehicle tax and fuel duty only £10 billion is reinvested in the road network  Gloucestershire County Council is ranked 121st in a league table of 214 local authorities for filling potholes, compiled by charity Cycling UK1  The repair backlog is estimated at £80 million
Gloucestershire Liberal Democrats are bringing forward a motion calling on the UK Government to spend more on the country's road network. The motion, to be debated at the Council meeting on 16 May, highlights the group's concern that of £30 billion raised by vehicle tax and fuel duty each year, only £10 billion is reinvested in the UK's roads.
The motion is being brought by Cllr. Joe Harris, who also calls on the County Council Leader, Cllr. Mark Hawthorne, to write to the Secretary of State for Transport and the county's six MPs outlining the county's position that more funding should be made available.
Cllr. Joe Harris (Cirencester Park) said: "Potholes and the state of the county's roads is the number one issue on the doorstep. Gloucestershire faces a huge challenge, with a backlog of road repairs totalling an estimated £80 million.
"To highlight this gap, we are calling for the council to support our motion and for the Conservative Council leader to ask his party colleagues in UK Government why the road network receives so little investment from vehicle tax and fuel duty and to request that a greater proportion of it is actually spent

Tackling air pollution in Gloucestershire from vehicle emissions is set to be an important priority for Gloucestershire County Council. Today the report of the air pollution task group, chaired by Cllr. Jeremy Hilton (Lib Dem Kingsholm & Wotton), is published.

According to Public Health England, poor air quality is the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK, and the Royal College of Physicians has estimated that poor air quality is responsible for 40,000 premature deaths in the UK annually.

Liberal Democrat councillors have expressed their concern after it was revealed that Gloucestershire County Council's spending on consultants

has increased by a quarter compared to the previous year.

Following questions today to the County Council's Conservative Cabinet by Cllr Paul Hodgkinson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, it was revealed that spending on consultants rose from £1,327,372 in the year ending 31 March 2017 to £1,712,833 in the same period this year - a staggering rise of 23%.

An albatross unwittingly feeding plastic to their young. A sea turtle hopelessly ensnared in floating debris. The most celebrated and watched programme of 2017 was also the most sobering.

'Blue Planet II' brought to life the staggering impact that our consumerist, throwaway culture is having on our seas. It's estimated that 9 million tonnes of plastic waste enters our seas and oceans every year, causing huge damage to marine life and the environment. Single-use plastics (SUPs), such as straws, plastic bottles and disposable coffee cups are not widely recycled, and can take up to 900 years to degrade, breaking into fragments that enter the food chain.

Tewkesbury Borough Council (TBC) Planning Committee at its meeting on February 13th decided to defer the application to build 465 homes on Cheltenham Road East adjoining Dancey Road and Parkside Drive.

They requested further information after listening to Churchdown Lib Dem councillor Kay Berry when she addressed the meeting. Kay drew their attention to the education report of October 2nd which had not been included in their papers. This clearly stated that there is 'no capacity' in any of the local schools to take any of the children from this development of 465 homes. It also said that the full development of the whole Joint Core Strategy (JCS) strategic site of Churchdown South would require the construction of a new 3 form entry primary school and extra classrooms for the two secondary schools.
The application will be heard again on March 13th when representatives from the County Council's education department and Highways England will be invited to answer questions from the committee.

No return to overnight A & E provision at Cheltenham General Hospital -
So say the Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS Trust for Gloucestershire

At a seminar for Cheltenham Borough Councillors this week, Deborah Lee, CEO of the Gloucestershire Hospitals Foundation Trust and Mary Hutton, who leads on Gloucestershire's Sustainability and Transformation Partnership, both made it absolutely clear that there was no chance whatsoever of their agreeing to Cheltenham General Hospital reverting to a full 24/7 A & E facility.

So, despite Cheltenham Tory MP Alex Chalk's fine words and promises to restore our overnight A & E, he capitulated to urgent care which made it easier for this outcome to be imposed on us. And, despite the Prime Minister's fine words at Prime Minister's Questions saying that the Trust would listen to the views of local residents, this has clearly not been the case here.

The Trust argue that their decision is to ensure the safety of the public. What they really mean is that they cannot afford to recruit sufficient specialist clinicians to staff two overnight A & E departments in the county. Why can't they afford to do so? Because, like local authorities, the police and other public sector bodies, the NHS has been starved of much needed funds by central government as, first, George Osborne and now Phillip Hammond obsessively pursue a policy of austerity.

As Lib Dem Councillor Dennis Parsons points out 'the truth is that public safety is put at risk by the absence of an overnight A & E facility at Cheltenham. This means that Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Borough residents in areas such as Bishop's Cleeve and Winchcombe need to traipse all the way to Gloucester while suffering injury or illness that may or may not be life threatening.' .

The Liberal Democrats have argued and will continue to argue for a penny on income tax to raise £6 billion specifically ring-fenced to provide improvements in NHS and social care.

The Liberal Democrats owe it to the people of Cheltenham and surrounding area never to stop campaigning for a fairer funding solution and the restoration of a full time 24/7 A & E Department at Cheltenham General Hospital.

Tewkesbury Constitueny Liberal Democrats are delighted to report that the Liberal Democrats won all four of the council by-elections that were held on Thursday 30th Nov, gaining seats from the Conservatives, Labour and UKIP and holding a seat already held.

The sweep of victories means that the Liberal Democrats have gained seven council seats in November, significantly more than any other party.

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